A cancelled Whippet bus service that many Papworth Everard residents relied on to get to work and school has been saved thanks to the efforts of a 17-year-old student.

Grace Fisher, who takes the X3 bus to college every day, launched a petition that received thousands of signatures when she learned the service was scheduled to end on Saturday, November 10.

Thanks to Grace's petition and the work of Mayor James Palmer, MP Heidi Allen and other officials, the X3 bus service triumphantly returned yesterday (November 12).

Whippet Coaches managing director, Charlie Hamilton, took to the wheel to drive the 7.01am X3 bus in celebration.

The service was the only public transport to the village suitable for commuters to get in and out of Cambridge, and was relied upon by students and those who work in the city centre.

Grace, a student at Hills Road, decided to take action to save the bus she relied on to get to college, first by starting a petition, and then by rallying the entire village and many others to sign it.

The mayor said: “The continuation of this service I know will come as a welcome relief for the many people who relied upon it, particularly those living in Papworth Everard.

“The voices of those concerned about the loss of this service were heard loud and clear and I pay tribute to the work of Grace Fisher who so ably brought those views to wider attention.

“I would now urge the communities served by the X3 to support their bus service as much as possible to help keep it sustainable.”

Mayor James Palmer (Image: Cambridge News)

However this boost will only keep the service running until March 2019, so the fight to save the service isn't entirely over.

Talking to Cambridgeshire Live Grace said: "I’m very pleased that the X3 service has been funded to run until March – this would never have been possible without the fantastic support from various communities, councillors and campaigners.

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"I cannot put into words how relived I was when it was announced the service was saved; knowing that students including myself could get into college and commuters could continue getting to work without bringing more cars onto the road was very reassuring.

"However, we must keep in mind that this grant is scheduled to only last until March. We must continue to utilise the services to show just how integral they are to maintain stability within the village.

"I plan to keep campaigning for a reliable and permanent service to be implemented for Papworth. In addition to this, I hope this issue we faced together has raised awareness into the lack of transparency with issues concerning public transport – communities must continue in their pro-active actions and keep pushing for clear answers from those involved in the decision making with regards to public transport.

"I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who signed the petition and those involved with the campaign."